Jvara - Part 1

Jvara: Part 1

This is the the most important concept in Ayurvedic pathophysiology as far as diagnosis and treatment is concerned. The word jvara comes from the root word ‘jval’ which means ‘associated with fire’ or ‘inflammatory’ or ‘burn’ etc… It is described “jvarayati iti jvara”

The pathophysiology in Ayurveda is constructed in a particular way. The ācāryas first enumerated all the possible symptoms that the body can present with in all imbalances. They then grouped them into syndrome complexes based on the progression of disease in the body. They also made a spectrum of the progression of disease from the initial manifestation until the point of death. The different syndrome complexes were then placed along this spectrum. That is the secret of how the Ayurvedic Pathophysiology was constructed.

Now, the initial point in this spectrum is jvara. Interestingly, the end point in the spectrum is also jvara. Why? Unlike the western paradigm, every that is part of the vedic thought moves in a circle. So ultimately we always end up where we started. That is also the secret of diagnosis and treatment.

One of the synonyms of jvara is “roga pati”. Pati means husband. So roga pati means husband of disease. So disease is the wife of jvara. What does that mean? In the vedic culture the wife always accompanies the husband like a shadow accompanies a person. So it means that as the disease progresses from beginning to end, jvara is always present along with it in one form or another. So it is clear from this description that jvara is not fever as some popular books translate. It also means that the treatment of jvara should accompany the management of any disease whatsoever. This is a revolutionary thought.

Another synonym of jvara is pāpma meaning ‘born from sin’ or ‘sustained by sin’. So the next question is what is sin or papa. That is also described in Ashtanga Hridayam. From the disease point of view, any action that leads to an imbalance in the body is sin. So it will be “arthairasātmyaiḥ samyoga kāla karma ca…” as described in AH Su 12.34 and especially the “…daśadhā yacca ninditam” in AH Su 12.42. So basically this means jvara is also the beginning point of the disease or the causative factor.

Another synonym of jvara is mṛtyu which means death. This clearly indicates that jvara is what causes the final culmination of disease which is death.

From this we can understand the all encompassing nature of jvara. That is why it is a common saying among the traditional vaidyas that “if you know how to treat jvara, you can treat any disease”. Jvara is present at the beginning of disease, jvara is present in the middle of disease and jvara is present at the end of disease.

What is the sequence by which jvara manifests?

When the vitiated doṣas enter into the āmāśaya, combine with āma, blocks the srotas, displaces the fire from the pākasthāna (koṣṭha) to the śākha - (jvalanam bahiḥ) increasing the uṣṇa guṇa in the body and spreads rapidly along with the agni that is displaced to all the dhātus, it is called jvara.

(…to be continued)